


At Last

by flanneldaddy



Category: Twilight Series - All Media Types, Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Bella Isn't Straignt Y'all, Bellice - Freeform, Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual Sex, Eventual Smut, F/F, Falling In Love, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gay Sex, Hurt/Comfort, Lesbian Vampires, Mutual Pining, Resume doesn't exist, Romance, Soulmates, Vampires, wlw
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-07
Updated: 2020-04-10
Packaged: 2020-11-26 12:56:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 17,771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20930588
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flanneldaddy/pseuds/flanneldaddy
Summary: When Bella moved to Forks, Washington, the last thing she planned to do was make any lasting connections. She had Charlie, that was enough for her. Adjusting to a new environment was difficult enough. But when Alice Cullen worms her way into Bella's good graces, her whole life is turned upside down. (Twilight but instead of Edward, it's Alice)





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! I decided to get a jump on this fic before I put it off any longer! Bella's been given a bit more character, so I hope you all are okay if she's a little "ooc." I'm going to try my hardest to stay true to the characters. Just a little preface to see if anyone's interested!  
I know it's short, but I would love to know what you guys think! Let me know if you're interested in me continuing! Until next time!

This was a dream, _ surely _ it must be. Everything that centered around this little moment in time had to have been some figment of my overactive imagination. The meadow in all its wild glory, peppered with indignant purples and shy blues that matched the cloudy sky above. The breeze that tugged at my hair and whispered in foreign tongues. The angel sitting before me...

Her ghostly skin shone against the waning twilight that encompassed us. I could feel the gravity of her gaze settle in my bones and seize at the recesses of my mind. The weight of it was near crushing, a constant and delicious numbness that nestled in my chest.

Then the angel was leaning closer. All I could do was follow, helpless against her magnetic pull on my heart. Her forehead pressed to mine as her lips twitched upward. A smile to capture the breath from my lungs. 

So much hung in the balance within the space between us. My destiny danced precariously, intertwining with hers as our fingers laced together. She paused for a moment despite my insistence. She was giving me time to run. 

When I didn’t move, she chuckled.

Her eyes fluttered shut, and with a tilt of her chin, she sealed my fate.


	2. Shiny New Toy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bella garners more attention than she desires on her first day of school, save for one pair of eyes she can't get enough of.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I didn't expect there to be this much interest, but thank y'all! I'm glad to know my sentiments over switching Edward for Alice are shared. I hope you guys enjoy this first chapter!  
Quick thank you to my beta, Maddie, for making this chapter good enough to post! She's amazing.

If the world were to open and swallow me whole, I would be freed of the self-imposed binds which held me here, and maybe the entire student body of Forks High would stop _ staring _ at me. It wasn’t every day that the police chief’s daughter decided to live with him in a drearily tiny town, but did it _ have _ to make front page news? Wherever I went, I was met with a barrage of eyes. It was as if I was some sort of alien creature from another planet, like they’d never seen an albino Arizonian before. Traversing the halls became a game of avoiding as many eyes as possible while I desperately tried not to trip over my own feet. So far I was at a score of 0 - 215, and I hadn’t even made it to lunch. 

Instead, I was barely making it through trigonometry. The teacher, Mr. Varner, thought it best that I stand in front of the class and introduce myself. By some miracle, I didn’t stumble over my feet on the way to the front of the class, but each word that stumbled out of my mouth gave way to the dread that nestled in my gut and fanned that the anxious flames that licked at my face. I couldn’t breath under the scrutiny, blinded by the high-powered microscope I’d been put under. I didn’t say anything they didn’t already know, and the prompts Varner gave me were mortifying. Those horrific few minutes of my life seemed to stretch on into a forever that I had no interest in being part of. To top it off, two or three students gave a pity clap as I shrunk down in my seat. I’d never prayed so fervently for a god to strike me down.

I gave it a good half hour before asking to excuse myself, to which he begrudgingly obliged. As I retreated down the hall, I could feel the prying eyes on my back that I would surely escape in a restroom. 

Unfortunately, even using the bathroom seemed cause for spectacle.

“Oh, my god,” I recognized the voice. Lauren Mallory stopped applying her lipstick to gawk at me. The feigned excitement made me wince.

“You’re the new girl, right? Isabella Swan?” The use of my legal name left an odd taste in my mouth, like an incredibly flat wine or oxidized expectations. It was so formal, so entirely _ not me _. Under my breath, I cursed my mother for naming me Isabella. “Just Bella.”

“Yeah, whatever,” with a flip of her flaxen hair, she was strutting forward and embracing me in a hug. She smelled of flowers and insincerity. “It’s so good to finally meet you! Aren’t you from, like, Arkansas or something?” 

“You mean Arizona?” It took more effort to be pleasant than I thought it would. Every word that left her mouth rang hollow; her nasally voice grated against my ear, and her grip on my shoulders left me tense. She exuded an aura that screamed of popularity, and I suppose I understood; Lauren was pretty enough. In a Regina George sort of way.

She scoffed, “That’s what I said, silly!” The painted smile wiped off her face with a practiced ease as she turned back to the mirror. She pulled a tube of mascara from her handbag and began applying with precision. “So, do you like it here? Or is this place too small pickings for you?” 

My feet gave pause while I processed what she’d just said. The words landed like a slap to the face, blunt despite their subtlety. _ Are you too good for this place? _

“It’s difficult to compare Forks to Phoenix, but this place is growing on me.” She expected more, but that’s all I’d give her. I didn’t see the point in wasting words on somebody who wouldn’t heed them.

She continued the conversation on her own as I slipped into the nearest stall. “It’s just so funny how you just got here and now you’re, like, the _ center _ of attention, y’know? You’re like the shiny new toy, or something. And that’s fine, or whatever, but, y’know, don’t be selfish about it!”

That’s when I began drowning her out. The last thing I wanted was anyone giving me any sort of attention here, so it was bold of her to assume my stint in the spotlight was something I enjoyed. A sharp rebuttal boiled in the back of my throat, but I swallowed it back as I washed my hands. 

“...but it’s not like Tyler _ really _ cares, y’know? This’ll pass. Like the Cullens! Everyone cared about them, and now they’re just old news.”

I only caught the tail end of her monologue while ducking out of the restroom. The less brain cells I lost to her Victoria’s Secret perfume, the better. 

I made it through to lunch without any other backhanded compliments. Everyone else had been nice, albeit a little _ too _nice. Mike Newton seemed fixated on me; even though Jessica Stanley didn’t quite like that, she was nice enough. Ben Cheney was sweet, Eric Yorkie was persistent. Angela Weber was the one I gravitated toward the boisterous lunch table. She was quiet — once I learned that, I quickly found my place next to her. Eric and Mike practically fought for the seat to my left, but Jessica slipped beside me before they could decide on a winner.

“Wow, I haven't seen the guys like this since Lauren Mallory grew a set of boobs,” Angela chuckled.

Jessica tossed Eric and Mike an indignant smirk before swiping a french fry from Ben’s tray. “If you can call them that. They’re more like mosquito bites —”

“_ Jess _!”

“_ What _?! It’s true, and I can say it! I’ve seen them.”

“You’ve seen Lauren’s boobs?”

“She doesn’t make it difficult,” I don’t know what possessed me to pipe up, but the words had tumbled out before I could stop them. At least it got them to laugh. 

When Jessica recovered, she asked, “Did you run into Lauren today?”

“I’m so sorry,” Mike interjected with a grin.

“Yeah,” It seemed best to keep her dislike of me to myself. Any drama that I could avoid was good drama, “she was prattling off about the Cullens, whoever they are.”

Everyone at the table shared a look before turning back to me. I was no stranger to being the odd man out, but there was something grating about being the only one without inside knowledge. I chalked it up to a detailed history of not liking surprises. Jessica spoke up for the group after reading the expectant look on my face, “She doesn’t like them because they stole her thunder for like, most of sophomore year. Which, like, I totally get because have you _ seen _ Rosalie Hale?”

“Everyone’s seen Rosalie Hale.”

“I haven’t seen Rosalie Hale.” Somebody who got on Lauren Mallory’s nerves? Color me intrigued. “Who is she?”

Angela was the first to recover from their surprise. Should I have met the Cullens and this Rosalie already? “The Cullens are Dr. and Mrs. Cullen’s foster kids. They moved here from Alaska a few years ago. They keep to themselves— ”

“Yeah, because they’re freaks.” Angela frowned at Mike’s comment, but it did little to deter him. “What? It’s true.”

The disappointment lingered in the air after she sighed, but she didn’t get much chance to finish. The doors leading from outside had opened, and students had started to filter through. They were beautiful in an effortlessly haunting sort of way. All of them sported the same perfect ivory skin, save for the bruising under their eyes. Each set of eyes was striking, painted a bright gold that I had never seen before. They shone against pallid skin and drab cafeteria colors, uniting and ostracizing them all at once with their peculiarity. I wondered if they all wore colored contacts.

The first woman was tall with looks that could kill. Her long blonde hair fell gracefully down her back, not a lock out of place. She looked to be carved from marble itself. I couldn’t help choking on my water as I gawked at her. Her outfit only added to the exuded allure; the way her clothing hugged her body would have been enough to drive Aphrodite into fits of jealousy and desire. Haughty apathy curled her shoulders back and tilted her chin upwards. Her confidence spoke deafening volumes; she knew she was at the top of the metaphorical food chain. However, she didn’t seem to care whether we knew or not, and I suppose that was the genius of it. Her frosted indifference paved the way to a practiced superiority that left students gawking. I took a swig of humility and looked away for my sake.

The guy at her side had to have been the largest person I’d ever seen. With his burly physique, it was difficult to believe that he was in high school. Both he and the woman seemed better fitted for the copies of Sports Illustrated than sitting in study hall. In contrast, he radiated a childlike invitation to anyone nearby, put out by the cold of her silent challenge. Perhaps it was the impish tilt to his lips or the short, dark curls that were just long enough to crest at his ears? Or the dimples that appeared when he smiled? He seemed to almost _ want _ students to approach him, give him any excuse to exercise his humor. Ironically his imposing stature kept anyone with a right mind from such things. 

He brought their clasped hands to his lips and pressed a kiss to hers, earning himself a half pleased smirk that could probably melt ice.

“It’s _ weird _, right?” Jessica’s voice pulled me from my observations. 

Angela tossed her a chiding look, “Jess, it’s not _ that _ weird.”

“But they _ live _ together! They’re kind of like siblings, but they’re dating each other! Who does that? Oh— ” Jess motioned to the two I’d been looking at and continued, “Those two are Rosalie Hale and Emmett Cullen. Probably the hottest seniors Forks High has ever seen.”

“I don’t know,” Angela shrugged with a coy smirk, “maybe Dr. and Mrs. Cullen will adopt me?”

Next to filter in were two guys, Jasper Hale and Edward Cullen. Jasper slipped in the door first, followed by the “total hottie,” as Jessica had coined him. Jasper was nowhere near as muscular as Emmett, which meant he looked much leaner in comparison. His ruddy blond locks stopped just over his collar, and he stood as rigid as steel. The tension in his body was nearly palpable. Now I understood why Jess had commented that he looked like he was in pain. Was there something discomforting about being at school? I could feel sympathy bloom within my chest; at least until his hard eyes met mine through the crowd. The surprise of his sudden shift of attention made me jump in my seat. Even after I turned away, I could still feel his gaze creeping up my back, compounding in strength the more I thought about it. 

By the time I felt safe enough to find the Cullens again, Edward had also taken his seat. He seemed more miserable than Jasper, if it was at all possible, face contorted with frustration. He ran a hand through disheveled bronze hair while his lips moved far too rapidly to understand. 

“Does he own a hairbrush?” The words tumbled forward before I could stop them, slapping my hand over my mouth hard enough to sting. Mike, Eric, and Ben immediately broke out into laughter. Raucous cackling echoed from across the hall; Emmett Cullen had doubled over the table with the force of some funny joke. Edward seemed the only one bemused by the display. 

When the laughter at our table died down, Jessica began turning this way and that, brow furrowed in confusion. Her hair slapped Eric in the face until he thought it wise to move. “Where’s Alice?”

“Alice?”

“She’s the last of the Cullens, the little dark-haired weird girl. Usually she’s with Jasper, but…”

The supposed last of the Cullens made her entrance, and suddenly everything else drowned out. Jessica’s rambling, Eric and Mike’s side conversation… Even the other Cullens themselves ceased to exist. It was just strange little Alice, suspended in a moment too mystifying for words. She was skinny enough to almost border concerning, a coupling of pale skin and bones. Cropped, inky black hair stuck up in every which way and framed her pixie features well. She nearly danced down the aisle, gliding and skipping to her own music. She seemed so free, basking in the space and stares that her entrance garnered like flowers thrown at her feet. Like Rosalie, she wore confidence effortlessly, but warmth pranced alongside her instead of ice. Jasper pulled a chair out for her, and when she took her place, she met my gaze head on. Her amber eyes differed from his in nearly every way. While his had been hard and wary, hers were curious, one might even venture far enough to say friendly. The corner of her mouth twitched up into a smile that brought fire to my cheeks. To say that she was dazzling was a poor excuse for an understatement. There was something about her that reigned more inviting than the rest of the Cullens, something so unabashedly open that, had she been looking at anyone else, they might have taken it as an invitation to join their table.

I didn’t want to look away, mesmerized by the tiny dancer, but my eyes were torn back to the table when Jessica’s shrill voice broke through the haze. “Ooh, seems a Cullen likes the shiny new toy too.”

“Wait, what’s that supposed to mean?” Jess had barely let the sentence out before Eric tuned in. His dark eyes whipped between their table and myself. “Which one?”

“I don’t see how it matters, and I doubt it’s anything…” I could feel the attention at the table land on my shoulders and dig its talons in. No amount of shrinking down could drown out their chatter. It was an all-encompassing din that I’d yet to acclimate to.

“I dunno,” Jessica mused, “the Cullens never notice anyone. Not even when they’re right in front of them.” Her last comment dripped with ice, and she punctuated it by breaking a carrot in half. I decided it best to leave that topic for another day, even if it meant suffering a conversation at my expense. 

Toward the end of lunch, conversation had somehow veered off into a heated tangent about possible weekend plans. Something about trying to visit a beach? Truthfully I hadn’t paid much attention. I’d been too busy burning Alice into my memory. She was enchanting, dazzling even. Everything around her wilted and greyed with disinterest while she bloomed in the wake of my fascination. Her eyes burned a brighter hue than her siblings, windows into a mind I’d enjoy getting to know, much to my surprise. I had next to no interest in making ties with any of the nosy denizens of this town, but perhaps an exception wouldn’t be too uncalled for? 

My mulling into what her voice sounded like came to an abrupt halt when Mike side-stepped into my field of vision. I ignored the pinch of irritation as I declined his offer to walk me to class. His vie against Eric for my attention quickly began grating on my nerves. While his words were kind and his gestures appreciated, I had no desire in adopting a golden retriever. “I wouldn’t want you to be late. Besides, I need to psych myself up for biology, and I find I do best alone.”

He seemed almost hurt by my refusal but let it be. I tried softening the blow with, “Maybe you should walk with Jessica? She might like the company.” It didn’t take a genius to notice Jessica’s attraction to the resident golden retriever. While it didn’t soften things as much as I’d hoped, his frown seemed to lessen before walking back to the group. 

It was easy enough to find my biology class, and I slipped through the door as conspicuously as a new student could. The immediate shift of eyes made me incredibly aware of my clumsy tendencies. Somehow without tripping I managed to hand my slip to Mr. Molina. 

“Ah, Miss Swan,” he greeted, scrawling his signature with a flick of his wrist. “How’re you liking it here so far?” 

The textbook he handed me was old and tattered, and the shining skyscrapers on the cover seemed to have little to do with the subject of science. My response came without issue, a line I’d said so much today that it might as well have been rehearsed. “It’s good. Everyone is very welcoming.”

“That’s good,” his smile reached the eyes hidden behind his bifocals as he gestured to the only open seat in class. “Welcome to biology.”

“Thanks,” his demeanor lifted a weight off my shoulders. I was waiting for him to make the classic “new student” announcement, waiting for the inevitable embarrassment that I would no doubt incur. It never came. He simply let me walk down the aisle to the open table before beginning his lesson. 

Halfway down the aisle I paused in my tracks. 

My seat was right next to Alice Cullen. She seemed to perk up when we met eyes, sporting a smile so infectious that I couldn’t keep from returning it. My heart leapt in my throat before revving at a speed that took me off guard. Could she hear it? Did she think _ I _ was weird, with my shaky fingers and pounding heart? I could feel her eyes on me as I found my feet and situated myself at the black-top table; only after I set down my books did she speak up.

“I’m sorry about Jasper. He doesn’t bite,” she mused in a voice smooth as honey. Her folded hands parted, one held out for mine. I took it without a second thought. The shock of frigid skin made me gasp, and it felt as if I was clutching ice — I’d never encountered anybody so cold. She continued on before I had time to truly process what had happened, so I filed the thought away for safekeeping. “I’m Alice, but something tells me you know that already.” 

“What gave that impression?” 

“Seemed your friends were giving you quite the rundown on my family.”

She must’ve started laughing at the look of mortification that overtook my features. The pleasant sound coaxed my brow to relax and doused the flames that erupted at my cheeks. How could she have heard that from across the room?

“It wasn’t hard to guess, Bella, given how you’d been looking at us. You weren’t exactly being inconspicuous.” 

Despite my natural aversion to attention and the dying flames of embarrassment, I felt an odd comfort in her presence. While she maintained an obvious curiosity, there was no gawking or staring. It was a simple existence, a simple conversation. No pressure, no expectations… I failed to see why Jessica would think she was weird. Aside from Angela, Alice seemed to be the most normal person I’d encountered today, aside from her frigid skin. Maybe Jessica had the wrong idea about the Cullens, and they were just misunderstood because nobody took the time to get to know them. 

Mr. Molina wasn’t teaching anything I hadn’t already learned. The phases of mitosis was a subject I was too familiar with, so I shifted my attention to Alice once more.. She’d taken to sketching a rough scene of a meadow on a new page. Each wildflower stem was purposeful, every blade of grass intentional. She painted a sky in monochrome shades, flecked with stars and a full moon and caressed by the tops of pine trees.

“Jasper’s weird about people staring at him, so it’s nothing you did,” Alice looked up from her notebook to offer me an apologetic look. “He sends his apologies.”

“It’s okay. He just...surprised me, is all,” I felt the words effortlessly tumble forward of their own accord while my gaze flickered up to meet the one waiting for me. 

The smallest of the Cullen siblings was even more beautiful up close. Her expressive eyes were catching, holding mine in a gentle vice, and I couldn’t help but wonder if her hair naturally fell in so many directions or if she spent hours getting them just right, each spike just as intentional as the grass she’d drawn. There was something alluring about her, something that tugged at me like a moth to flame. Whether that was a good thing or not, I wasn’t so sure yet. She saw fit to break the silence between us with an inquiry of her own. 

“How do you feel about predestination?”

Her question came like a ball out of left field. I suppose the look on my face seemed cause for amusement because she had the gall to laugh as if she’d simply asked about the weather. Her smile was breathtaking, meeting her eyes in a way that made them shine. 

“Predestination? You mean fate and destiny?” I’d had plenty of time to digest her question, yet I still found pause enough to repeat. When she nodded, I continued, “There’s gotta be some merit to it. I mean, not everything can be up to chance, right? There’s no way. Some things happen for a reason.”

“Like you moving to Forks?”

My shoulders came to rest against the back of my chair as I swallowed that thought. Was my move to Forks predestined? Was it something I couldn’t escape, or was it an action that wouldn’t have changed regardless? 

“Wait,” I began, ignoring the surge of pain collecting between my eyes, “but I _ chose _ to move here. Doesn’t that count for anything?”

“Maybe…” She bit her lip and cheekily added, “unless you were destined to make that choice anyhow?”

“But what if the future is subjective? Do you think it can change?”

An inside joke glimmered in her eye and tugged at the corner of her lip. It was faint, just the barest of reactions, but just enough to give me the confidence I needed to ask, “That’s what you believe, isn’t it? Was your question about predestination just a trick, then?”

“Not a trick,” she corrected gently. Her hand found its place at my wrist, the chilly contact sending shockwaves up my arm. “Just something to encourage the thought process.”

“And a headache.” My mind honed in on the physical contact between us as blush burned its way back up my neck. The contrasting temperatures left me reeling, only doubling in force when her thumb began brushing at my wrist. The motion only lasted for a second until she pulled away, though I swore my arm felt chillier in her wake.

“Something tells me that you’ll be fine.” With a wink, she turned to the front and raised her hand to answer Mr. Molina’s question, leaving me to ponder what exactly had just happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading! Let me know what you think :)


	3. Where's Your Cell?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bella has a revelation that confounds her in more ways than she thought possible.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, everyone! Thank you for your patience as I write this fic. I'm banking on an update once a month featuring longer chapters. I like the pace things have been going at so far! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter as much as I did. Thanks again to my beta, Maddie, for making this chapter worthy of the public eye <3

_ “Please enter 25¢ to continue this phone call.”  _ The hollow, monotonous automated voice announced my mother’s aversion to technology with an unceremonious indifference. From portable DVD players to smartphones, she had a track record for losing and breaking anything with more than two buttons. In the time she’d had her iphone, it’d been lost at least four times and had died more times than I cared to count. 

“Mom, is your cell  _ still _ dead?” I snorted over the rim of my beer that Charlie let me have so long as I “asked and kept it inside at all times”, trying my best to disguise my laughter. Such topics rang with a comforting familiarity that reminded me of how I still yearned to be back home. The instinct to begin looking for her charger had yet to be extinguished. 

“No!” Came her quick defense, followed by a pregnant pause, “I can’t find it.”

“ _ Mom _ —”

“I know! I swear I set it on the kitchen counter, and then it just disappeared! I shouldn’t have an expensive phone. I  _ told _ Phil that! I just need one of those crackhead burners or something.”

After taking a swing, I added, “You’d just end up losing that. Maybe you should try writing letters? I left stamps in the utility drawer.”

“Honey, you know I’d just end up losing those too,” her flippant response punctuated the end of that conversation. “We’re not here to talk about my phone running away. Let’s talk about  _ you _ !” 

My blood ran cold at the sentiment, and the swig of beer that I’d taken burned on its way down. Her line of questioning was inevitable but one I still dreaded. I know she’d been dying to ask about the particulars of my first week at Forks High, and I’d somehow narrowly dodged answering her inquiries into my social life until now. 

My mother invested more into my social life than I did, and I held the guilt of knowing that she’d been saddled with a daughter who cared little for making deep social connections. I’d held onto that apathy when I moved, hoping in vain that she’d put such hopes and probing questions to rest. 

“ _ So _ ,” she mused, “tell me, are there any cute boys?”

The faces of Mike, Eric, and Edward flashed through my mind in such quick succession that I flinched. Disgust coated my tongue like a layer of film, and I took another swig of beer to wash away the taste. Mike was entirely too eager; any more eager and he’d grow a snout, perhaps even a tail. Eric had been too desperate for my tastes. Edward, as pretty as he was, reeked of angst that I had no interest in scratching the surface of. Suffice to say, every “bachelor” in my immediate circle was either too hopeful or too pitiful.

“Cute like little brothers, maybe,” I grumbled. “I don’t think there’s anything worthwhile in that department.”

She made a sound of pity, but I interjected before she could feel bad for me. “There are incredibly slim pickings here, so I wouldn’t be sorry. Every guy is manically desperate…”

“Ooh, what about girls, honey? Anyone that’s caught your eye?” She asked hopefully. I could hear her rummaging through her bag before shouting, “Phil, babe, do you have a quarter?”

Thoughts quickly turned to Alice and stayed there as my mom scavenged for change. Over the past week, Alice had become omnipresent: a honey-hued vision happily nestling her way to the forefront of my mind. Her smile never failed to brighten up an otherwise dismal day. Her laughter coaxed the stress from my shoulders with little effort. If I closed my eyes tightly enough, I could  _ just _ make out the faintest giggle that made my anxiety ebb away...

“ _ Bella _ !” My mother’s voice shattered the trail of laughter I’d begun to follow, and wrenched me from the amber coated reverie into an icy pool of embarrassment. As I stammered out a response, a blush clawed across my face and down my neck, burning as an inferno in my chest. 

“Yes?”

“We were talking about girls, honey?” She gasped and squealed like a schoolgirl. Her high pitch stabbed at my ear; I had to pull the phone away to spare my hearing while I winced at her noxious excitement. “Were you thinking about one?!”

“ _ No _ !”

Of course she saw through the hurried denial. I was never a good liar and blamed it on an overactive conscience. 

“C’mon, Bella! Who is she? Is she cute? Is she a cheerleader? A redhead? Do you have a class with her?” She continued on into an endless spiral of inquiries that left me feeling more off balance than the beer I’d finished. Question after question flooded my mind until the weight of it all forced me onto my back and into the waiting embrace of my pillow. As good as her intentions were, a suffocating onslaught of questions was not how I intended to leave this earth; after finding my voice, I hollered her name to quiet her.

“Well, go on!”

Truthfully I didn’t think she’d stop. I had no follow-up, no plan. I wasn’t sure what to tell her. _ Was _ there anything to tell her? Was I attracted to Alice? The mere thought of it sent my heart beat into a racing fury. The empty beer bottle I held for purchase slipped from my clammy grasp and clattered to the floor below.

“It’s…” I took in a deep breath to calm my overworked mind. With my energy for conversation waning, sleep became more appealing by the second. “It’s complicated.”

“Complicated? How—”

Time. I had to buy myself time, that much was clear. Time to figure out what the jumble of thoughts and feelings meant before my mother bought a one-way ticket to figure things out for herself. “I’ve got an early start tomorrow..I have to go. I promise I’ll figure it out and tell you about it soon, okay?”

“Okay, sweetie.” The disappointment in her voice echoed in the quiet of my room, twisting into relief as it curled its way up my back. By the time it reached my head, my eyes had grown heavy with sleep. “I love you.”

“I love you too, mom.” The words ached to say; I didn’t think I’d miss my mother so much. The countless hours I spent riddled with frustration at her forgetfulness did nothing to prepare me for the sadness that our distance created. ‘ _ This was good _ ,’ I had told myself long after deciding to move to Forks, ‘ _ this’ll be good for both of us _ .’ 

My mother hadn’t seen it as such when I initially pitched the idea to her.  _ “Are you sure, honey?”  _ she’d asked day in and day out,  _ “You don’t have to do this because of me.” _ I needed to, for both of our sakes. She deserved time with her new husband, and I had no intention of being the third wheel that kept them rooted in the Arizonian mud. A couple of flights and a ride in Charlie’s police cruiser later, I was miles away from my loving, erratic, hare-brained mother, hoping my luck would take a turn and prove the mental mantra I’d adopted wasn’t for naught. 

“Prove it,” I muttered aloud to the ether, reaching out to turn off the bedside lamp with an exaggerated flick of my wrist, as if I was signing a contract with fate. “Prove it, and I’ll hate this place a little less.”

My thoughts returned to Alice as I drifted off, her words of destiny dancing on pointe shoes laced up with soft cadences and ringing laughter. 

I dreamt in brilliant shades of gold until the sun chased away their lustre. 

Morning arrived quietly. Clouds snatched at the sky with the threat of rain, and I held onto the shreds of gold that stowed away in the corners of my mind. A brisk shower rusted away the remnants of sleep that clouded my vision, and I only stumbled downstairs when I felt some semblance of ready.

Charlie had beat me into the kitchen; the smell of burned toast was a dead giveaway. He hunched over the toaster with his back towards me, but frustration rolled off his back with the pungent fumes.

“Didn’t we agree on only allowing you use of the microwave?” I teased, guiding him away from the smoking appliance. My father wasn’t known for his ability to cook. In fact, I don’t think he knew how to make anything on the stovetop. Not once had I seen him attempt a dish and succeed, and I hesitated to think about all of the frozen meals he’d gone through in his lifetime. 

He gruffed, shuffling away to the fridge. “Damn contraption doesn’t have any numbers on it. How am I supposed to know how long it’s gonna stay in for?”

“There’s a timer on the oven, dad.”

“Maybe the microwave is good enough,” came the contemplative murmur. Silence followed in the wake of his debacle while we continued on with breakfast. I cooked us an unburnt, edible meal while he supplied limited conversation.

“Your tires okay?”

“Yep.”

“How about the heat. Workin’ fine?”

“Mhmm.”

“Good.”

There was no  _ need _ for conversation, and for that I was grateful. While silences like these drove my mother insane, I found them comfortable. She used to drop frequent remarks about how eerily alike Charlie and I were, and it wasn’t until I was older that I understood. We were both  _ just _ awkward enough to make one relatively normal human being.

After breakfast, we both shuffled outside, where he paused to kick at one of my truck’s front tires. “Gettin’ pretty bald. I can take your truck this weekend to get ‘em replaced.”

“Cool, thanks.”

“Yep.” He paused halfway into his cruiser to look up at me, “Gonna be comin’ home late tonight. I’m headed down to Mason County. A security guard at Grisham Mill got killed by some kinda animal.”

“An animal?”

The confusion on my face seemed to amuse him. His mustache twitched with a smile, and his dark eyes gleamed with silent laughter as he said, “Y’aren’t in Phoenix anymore, Bells.” 

His cruiser hummed to life before curling out of the driveway, leaving me to ponder his words. What sort of animal were they investigating? Was it a bear? A wolf, maybe? It occupied my mind so much as I left that I didn’t remember driving to school. 

In the week since I had begun attending Forks High, the unfortunate attention I'd garnered seemed to wane. The student body saw fit to stop gawking — thanks to sub-par assimilation — meaning I was no longer the pretty new bauble for everyone to stare at. 

The exceptions to this rule were Mike Newton and Eric Yorkie.

“Bella!”

I was just meters away from the salvation of the lunch line. Despite my better judgement, I stopped in my tracks, shoulders taught with dread. 

Mike skidded up to me with eager eyes and a smile that nearly gave me cavities. He and Eric had kept up their attentions; they were in some sort of moronic competition to see who could win me over first. Mike’s tunnel vision left him unaware of my dislike for his advances as well as Jessica’s blatant interest in him. I didn’t get what she saw in him. Maybe she was into the whole “golden retriever puppy” aesthetic? I glanced behind him to see if he’d sprouted a wagging tail. 

“Hey, so I was wondering,” he began, rubbing the back of his head. “prom is coming up and all…”

Everything had become much more interesting to look at while he stammered on. Before I knew it, I was drowning him out in favor of looking for Alice. I couldn’t find her or Edward, but Rosalie, Emmett, and Jasper had all taken their places at the table and were staring at their trays of untouched food with kindred boredom. Emmett broke first, nudging Jasper to share a hushed conversation. It was the first time I’d seen Jasper crack anything close to a smile. Whatever Emmett said really must’ve amused him somehow. I wondered what he might have found funny... Rosalie didn’t seemed entertained at all. She sat angled away from the two, her eyes scanning the cafeteria until they met mine. A perfectly arched eyebrow lifted ever so slightly with acknowledgement, leaving me speechless. As far as I could tell, she didn’t give anybody the time of day. The barrier between her and the outside world was palpable. Had I done something to gain her attention? 

“...so what do you think?”

Somewhere in my panic to figure out how to respond to Rosalie, my mind tuned Mike back in. I hadn’t heard what he asked, and whether his proposal was good or bad was yet to be determined. “About what?” 

“About going to prom with me?”

A familiar sense of dread curled it’s way around my heart to give a tight squeeze. Like any discussion of plans to the prom, it was a conversation that I tried to avoid like the plague. Much like oil and water, dancing and I would never mix. It suddenly felt as if a spotlight was shining directly on my face, into my eyes. Words caught in the back of my throat — a jumbled myriad of refusals too harsh to utter. My heart hammered away against the claws of dread that held it in place. I couldn’t breathe under his expectant gaze. I needed air. A way out.  _ Anything _ .

“There you are!” Mercy. Her voice was a welcome reprieve from the screaming inside my head. The talons around my heart shied away and freed it from anxiety-leaded constraints. I could feel her approach before I saw her, feel the panic ebb away with each step, and relished in the newfound safe haven. 

Alice slipped into my peripheral, wound both arms around one of mine and pressed herself into my side. The sudden contact pulled a gasp from my lungs and ignited flames across my face. She was _freezing _even through our layers of clothing. My heart sputtered into a race, deafening and maddening. Her voice pierced through the chaos with deadly cadence. “I’ve been looking all over for you! Where’s your cell? Let me give you my number so we can talk about prom details later — ”

She stopped and turned her head toward Mike, dazzling him with a smile, “Oh, Mike! Sorry, I didn’t see you there. Did I interrupt something?” The gentle squeeze at my arm was meant to soothe but merely sent my heart into fifth gear.

“Uh, no,” he tried to hide his dashed hopes underneath a smile, but it was of little use. With a shake of his head, he began taking steps farther into the lunch room. “It wasn’t important.”

The subsequent sense of guilt was fleeting, yet powerful enough for me to call out for him. “Maybe you should ask Jessica? I know she wants to go with you.”

He glanced to our table and back to me before nodding and continuing on, dejection pushing his shoulders low. I had to do a double take to make sure he didn’t have a tail tucked between his legs.

Once he was far enough away, Alice let go of my arm and gave me some space to breathe properly. While my lungs were grateful for it, I missed the contact. My hands twitched with the urge to reach for her, but I fought it off by shoving my hands into my pockets. 

“Nice save, huh?” She beamed with pride, a grin perfect enough to make my knees weak. “And if I could hazard a guess, I don’t think, Eric’ll be asking you any time soon.”

My muscles forced a smile to mar my face despite the quivering disappointment that pulsed through blindsided veins. The force of it sent me stumbling backward. Unexpected and raw, relentless misery found the imprints that dread had left in my chest and made itself at home. 

Alice reached out to steady me, taking my elbow in her hand. Her grip was gentle, but her hold was like iron. “Don’t trip over your feet. You might need those.”

“Very funny,” I croaked out once I found my footing. “Thanks for that, by the way.”

“Of course. It’s about time they gave you a break.” Alice mused, glancing behind her to my table of friends. All of their heads snapped away as soon as she turned toward them, eliciting a laugh that rang like music to my ears. 

“May I see your phone?” I unlocked and handed it over without a second thought. She tapped about the home screen, entered her number, and sent a text to herself before handing it back to me. “There. To keep up the charade.”

Charade. The word left a bitter taste in my mouth, coating my tongue like black coffee. I couldn’t wrap my mind around why it bothered me. Of course Alice had stepped in to help, as any friend would. However the gesture stung more than anticipated, and I almost wished I had suffered through Mike’s proposal instead, much to my confusion.

She placed her hand over mine as she continued, momentarily pulling me from my obsessive thoughts, “But now you have my number, so text me whenever, ‘kay? Don’t be a stranger.” 

“Okay. I’ll do my best.” I ground my teeth at the unfortunate, bitter irony that stole its way into my lungs. The air was noxious with it, corroding my throat with its cloying wiles.

“I mean it, Bella. I expect a text from you by tonight at the latest.” Alice remarked with a raise of her brow. Her eyes searched mine until she was satisfied, reminding me of the hues of gold I’d dreamt about. Everything else faded from vision as I watched her, powerless underneath her scrutiny. “One more thing…” She closed the small distance between us; biting her lip, she lifted herself up onto her tiptoes. An icy hand cupped my face as she whispered in my ear, “Your friends really are nosy, aren’t they?” Her breath tickled my cheek, and her closeness made my knees buckle again. I grabbed onto her for support as my heart thundered to a frantic pace, choking me with anticipation.

Her soft lips pressed to my cheek and the world stopped. Everything froze around us, anchoring us in this little moment in time. I became overtly aware of everything: how our bodies just barely brushed against each other, her other hand on my shoulder, the curl of a smile against my cheek and her hum of satisfaction that I nearly missed with my heart beating in my ears. Her touch left fire in its wake, igniting across my face like a California wildfire. My mind struggled to process what was happening. Her intoxicating scent left me drunk and reeling; I curled my fingers around her clothes for better purchase, lest I fell and embarrassed myself more than I already had.

Alice lingered there for a moment, her thumb tracing across my cheekbone. When she pulled away, the distance was painful. She had managed to gently coax my hands from her waist, time returned to normal. 

“See you in class,” she whispered over the din surrounding us. Biting her lip to contain her rueful smile, she gave my hand one more squeeze before turning to glide toward her siblings. I watched after her in silence, warring with the side of my brain that yearned for her— that  _ wanted _ her so terribly it knocked me off my precarious balance. 

She found her place next to Jasper, greeting him with a smile that outshone the sun. He’d pulled out the chair for her, and whispered something in her ear when she settled. She laughed then, and I wished that I was close enough to relish in the sound myself. The searing jealousy that ripped its way up my back made little more sense than the disappointment. It raked its way across my lungs and burned at my fingertips. My hands clenched into fists in vain attempts to ebb the sear of coals. 

Jasper paused mid-sentence to look up at me, dark eyes wide with emotion beyond the comprehension of my overworked brain. It wasn’t just his eyes that had found purchase on me, however. One glance made it clear just how many students had taken to gawking, to staring and watching. The spotlight had returned. It was suffocating. Maddening. The lack of air, coupled with the amalgam of foreign emotions that burrowed deep within my chest left me scrambling for the nearest bathroom. 

I pushed open the door and hunched over the nearest sink. Slow, rattling breaths filled my lungs, but did little to clear the fog that nestled in my head. Rage and venom shrieked and danced about in the bleary machinations of my mind. The cacophony of their audacious laughter reverberated into a splitting headache. My nails cried against the porcelain sink in my attempts to blot out their incessant jeering. I hadn’t felt such visceral reactions since before moving to Forks. 

Alice. She was ever present. Constant. Not a moment went by without her somehow finding her way into my thoughts. Today did little more than stoke those flames. I replayed the kiss behind closed eyes over and over until I could feel her phantom touch at my face. It wasn’t enough. 

My mother’s words rang in my ears.  _ Anyone that’s caught your eye? _

“Understatement of the century.” I grumbled as I turned on the sink. The cool water on my face washed away the phantom touch, and when I looked into the mirror again, I accepted my fate. I couldn’t help but laugh, though. Alice had caught more than just my eye. No, that phrase didn’t do her justice. My eye, my mind, my attention… None of it held up to whatever  _ this _ was. 

Truthfully I wasn’t sure how to put words to what I was feeling. It was unlike any crush I’d ever had. It was all-encompassing, consuming, like a fire that lit even the most remote corners of my heart. Words would never do it justice. 

“My mother is going to have a field day with this one,” I concluded with a heavy sigh. With what will I had left, I dried the remaining water from my face and faced the music. Surprisingly enough, sitting with my usual table didn’t stir up any pointed conversations. I could feel that a heavy conversation had concluded in the time I was gone. There was a look in Angela’s eyes, the way she looked to Mike with such sympathy. Eric and Jessica supplied most of the conversation as usual, chatting about topics that did little to interest me. I was stuck on rewind, replaying the events that had transpired since lunch started. Again the phantom touch returned, and I allowed myself to get lost in the feeling rather than humor Eric with talking about the latest hot starlet. 

By the time I had pulled myself from my reverie, lunch was nearly over. The Cullens had left by then, and everybody else had started trickling through the doors. Lingering was the last thing on my mind, so I scarfed down my tater tots, put away my tray, and made a beeline for the door before anybody could stop me. 

When I entered the classroom, I felt a sudden weight lift off my chest. Alice was where she always sat, waiting expectantly for me. Her bright eyes softened when they found mine, following me as I found my place beside her. 

“Quicker than usual,” she noted, an air of amusement to her voice, “where’s the fire?”

I scoffed at the irony before muttering, “Just missed it unfortunately.”

“Such a shame.” Her sigh floated on the air between us, curling on its stagnancy.

Mr. Molina ushered a challenge once everyone had settled in. The first group to correctly label the phases of mitosis in order would win a golden onion. He hugged the prize to his chest before setting it down to aid the group in front of us. 

“Ladies first,” Alice murmured as she nudged the microscope in my direction. 

Between the two of us, we’d labeled the phases of mitosis in a matter of minutes, securing the golden onion for ourselves. While everyone else continued to work things out, it offered us time to talk.

I wasn’t prepared for how  _ easy _ everything still was. It was still easy to speak with Alice, to be around her. Her smile pulled at my heartstrings, and the sound of each giggle washed my worries away. I noticed how many times she reached for me, how each new subject offered her the excuse for contact. The classroom and the world beyond faded away once more. How unnecessary everything else had become in her presence. Eric and Mike weren’t there to confound me; Jasper couldn’t stare me down. Only Alice and I relished in a simple existence, a moment that couldn’t last long enough. 

Before I knew it, the bell had rung and we were forced to part. She let me keep the golden onion on the condition that I finally promise to text her later today. A simple enough promise to abide by.

Gym passed by horridly slowly. Dodgeball was the choice activity, and I didn’t hesitate to mock being hit in order to stave off the embarrassment of actually getting struck. The last bell of the day was my saving grace. I only had to survive the stampede to the parking lot before I could truly taste freedom.

“Bella!”

Whiplash clutched at my neck, and it took everything I had to ignore it in favor of following the music. Alice skipped effortlessly down the stairs to join me. Her arms wound around mine once more, a familiar move that sent shockwaves of pleasure up my side. The weight of her pressed into me sent my heart racing again. For a moment I was afraid she could hear it. 

“Are you excited for tomorrow?”

Her scent captured my attention before I could make sense of her words. Frost, flowers and something uniquely Alice that I couldn’t put my finger on. Regardless, it was more intoxicating than I expected. I couldn’t get enough. 

When I came to, she was watching me expectantly. “What’s tomorrow?”

“The field trip, silly,” she bit her lip in a vain attempt to hide her grin. “I’m sitting next to you on the bus, just so you know.”

“Really? Was it predestined? Did you see that in your crystal ball?”

“I said it, so it will definitely happen as a result.”

“Oh?”

“Don’t you know, Bella? If you say something aloud, you’re putting it into the universe and making it more likely to happen.”

“I’ll have to keep that in mind.” It wasn’t something I’d ever thought to do, but surely there couldn’t be any harm in it. Perhaps there was some merit to what she was saying? So far she hadn't given me a reason not to believe. Thinking back, I’d yet to vocally convince myself that moving to Forks would be a good thing. Was that why I had yet to truly believe it, why it had yet to show itself as a good thing?

“Yes, you will.” She gazed off into the parking lot and pouted. “My sister is calling me, but make sure you text me. I didn’t give you that golden onion for nothing.”

“I’ll be sure to.”

“Good.” With that, she gave my arm another squeeze before slipping off into the crowd. 

My eyes followed her retreating form as I walked among the throngs of students. When I found my truck, I heaved a sigh of relief. In a few short minutes, I could go home, but first, I had a text to compose, a confession to make.

_ Her name is Alice. I think I really like her, mom. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys so much for reading! What did you think? I would really appreciate it if you'd leave comments with your opinions and such!   
Until the next upload! Happy holidays :)


	4. Adrenaline Rush

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A life-threatening event brings about a lot of doubts and questions for Bella.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, everyone! I hope your holiday season was restful and that 2020 is off to a great start for you! This year is surely coming out the gate swinging for me, hence why this chapter was a bit later than normal. Nevertheless, here we are! This chapter is a bit longer to make up for it. It was something like 15 pages last I checked. It was a beast to write and to edit, but Beta Maddie is the best, as always, and makes these chapters worthy of posting.  
I hope you all enjoy this chapter! Happy reading!

Heavy crashes of groaning thunder brought the inevitable promise of rain. Dark clouds brewed overhead and cast the town in shades of grey that had unfortunately become all too familiar. I seemed to be the only one perturbed by the unsurprising downturn in the weather, a truth that I’d accepted with gritted teeth and a heavy sigh. I hadn’t seen the sun since I’d begun serving my sentence; solar withdrawal was the only thing that barred my complete assimilation

Less than a third of the meager high school population left immediately, squirreling off in their second hand cars to live what lives they had outside school. Most students stayed to mingle and mill about in tiny pockets of socialization, chatting until their voices garbled together into a singular unintelligible voice.

The Cullens were among those who remained. They stood removed from everyone else across the lot, resting by the only two cars in town made in the past five years. Emmett sat atop the hood of his Jeep, swinging his legs back and forth as he grinned at a stoic Jasper Hale; Alice and Rosalie entertained their own conversation, leaning against the latter’s convertible. Edward was notably not among their numbers. I couldn’t spot the mess of reddish hair at all today. Perhaps it was a godsend that I was spared noticing his unkempt locks whenever I looked to Alice at lunch.

As I watched, Alice’s smile seemed to push back the clouds. Her laughter floated silently on the breeze. Her vibrant eyes watched Rosalie attentively, and she alternated between tilting her head this way and that. Watching her back brush against the cherry red BMW reminded me of our kiss, of her touch, and of the way the brush of our bodies had ignited a fire that had blazed across my cheeks. I was transfixed by her; I was afraid of looking away, lest she disappear in a puff of smoke and leave me to swallow the reality that she was but a mere fantasy, a heady concoction of mulled joy and burning fascination. She was absinthe, a concrete hallucination of my own make, crafted to my tastes with compelling fire that burned cold to the touch.

The incessant buzzing of my phone pulled me from my drunken inner monologue; for a moment, my eyes flickered between the device and her, convinced she would disappear. Finally, I caved, unlocking my phone screen to discover the flood of texts from my persistent mother; she begged for more information about Alice, asking question after question that I couldn’t hope to process in my honeyed stupor. 

One text broke the steady stream of messages. 

_ See something you like? ;) _

I could feel Alice's eyes on me as I scanned her words over. My heart jumped into my throat at the irony: I’d spent so long watching her, only to panic once she'd noticed me. I was too cowardly to meet her gaze head on, so I kept my eyes down while I worked on a response clever enough to send.

A tremendous screech brought me from my stupor before my thumbs could find the will to reply. It rang jarringly against the new silence that punctuated the parking lot; my head snapped up in my start to find where it was coming from.

The adrenaline flooding my system allowed me to notice several things in rapid succession. Firstly, Alice Cullen was still watching me. Horror marred her beautiful face, replacing the usual mask of amusement. Her golden eyes were wide. Unmistakable in the sea of faces separating us. Then there was the dark blue van barrelling toward me. Its wheels were locked, skidding atop black ice. Tires screamed in protest against brakes. The van swiveled, its hull perpendicular to my truck. Its only foreseeable path meant to sandwich me between tons of unforgiving metal. Some sound like the scream of students punctuated the air. I froze. 

Something solid collided with me, sending me off my feet. My head smacked against the asphalt. I saw stars. They twinkled above me while something cold and hard looped itself around my waist. It lifted me from the frigid ground, shifted its iron hold, and tucked me against the curve of its body like an angel that smelled of frost, flowers, and something I couldn’t quite—

“ _ Alice _ ?” I managed to blink the stars away in the midst of my disbelief.

A small hand shot out to meet the impending van. It slammed into her with no mercy, but she didn’t budge an inch. The metal groaned and protested, giving way to slender fingers until a deep dent bruised the van’s side. Finally, the van came to a sudden stop, creaking against her palm.

“Bella?” Her voice rang with crystal clarity while her hands blurred with unbelievable speed. She peeled me away from her body and gently sat me on the ground. The same hand that had carved a dent in the van caressed my face. Her eyes scanned over me before coming to catch mine. The expression of horror that once twisted her face melted into a worry that knitted her brows together. “Bella, are you all right?”

“I’m fine.” The answer came hesitantly, one that she didn’t seem to buy.

Soft and reassuring, her fingers toyed with the hair behind my ear as she spoke; I was leaning into her touch before I could stop myself. “Are you  _ sure _ ? You hit your head pretty hard.” She tilted my head to the side in order to examine where I’d made contact with the asphalt, leaving me to stare at the damaged hull. How immovable she’d been, now fretting over me with the most gentle touch.

I ignored her question in favor of asking my own. “How did you…” I paused to gather my swimming thoughts; her proximity did little to help. “How did you get to me so quickly?”

“Let’s call it an adrenaline rush, hm?”

“An adrenaline rush?” Once her worry was pacified, she lowered her arms to her side and rocked back to sit on her knees. She met my dubious frown with an apologetic one. 

“Yes.”

When I tried to shift to my feet, she placed a hand on my shoulder to stop me. “Maybe you should stay put for now.”

“But I feel fine.” Aside from the splitting headache.

“Just humor me, honey.” She flashed a smile that I was powerless agaisnt. The little nickname lingered in my mind and sent pleasure fluttering in my chest. I held onto the moniker while obeying her command.

It was then that I registered the screaming, crying, and the crowd of students that had gathered around us, bombarding me with questions that I had no desire to answer. Some were crying, most were shouting at anyone who’d listen. 

_ “Bella, oh my god!” _

_ “Are you okay?!” _

_ “Someone get Tyler!” _

_ “I’ve already called 911!” _

“Great…” I muttered bitterly, “Maybe you should’ve let the van crush me, Alice.” I took what joy I could from the sound of her laughter.

“I’m sure there are worse fates.”

By that time, Coach Clapp and Mr. Varner had arrived. With the help of six EMTs, they managed to push the van enough to allow for stretcher access. Alice denied hers while I had less luck. She “offhandedly” mentioned how I hit my head and might have a concussion; I seethed with burgeoning betrayal as they all but forced me into a neck brace. Not even her mouthed apology was enough to stave off the maddening mortification. It roared in my throat, seething and constricting, but I bit my lip to keep quiet. Tears of humiliation pricked at my eyes as they wheeled my stretcher to the ambulance. As students lifted their phones high into the air to capture videos and pictures, I had never wanted a van to crush me more than I did in that moment. 

When I was convinced that nothing could make this moment any worse, the police chief himself had arrived to the scene. His eyes grew wide when he recognized me.

“Bells!” He broke into a sprint to reach me, stomping to a halt as he took my hand. 

“I’m fine, Char— Dad,” I huffed, giving his hand a reassuring squeeze. “I’m perfectly fine.”

As expected, he doubted the claim and approached the nearest EMT for further information. I let the subject go when I realized that no amount of reassurance would quell his worry. Instead, I settled on mulling over the events that had just transpired. Alice had saved my life. She had somehow crossed the entire parking lot, stopped a four ton van with just her body, and left a dent in the side of the van large enough to fit a basketball. And her words…  _ “Let’s call it an adrenaline rush, hm?” _ As if she knew I wouldn’t buy that as a concrete answer.

Her family had remained on the other side of the lot during the whole ordeal. I looked past the throngs of nosy students to find them staring, along with everyone else. The difference was their expressions, ranging from hard discontent to near unbridled fury. Their eyes were trained on Alice who walked to the front of the ambulance with an EMT. As she passed, she allowed her chilly fingers to touch my arm, glancing up to meet my eyes. Though her expression fell back on near unreadable, I could nearly make out the waves of conflict brimming at her lashes. 

I focused on the look in her eyes as I was loaded into the back of the ambulance. The drive to the hospital was flavored with bitter misery. All I could do was stare into harsh, fluorescent lights for what seemed like an aching eternity, while my brain tore at memories that played among refracted rays. They lingered on Alice and how she ceased to make any sense. Superhuman feats of speed and strength were the latest addition to the list of reasons why she’d become such an open mystery. Just when I was beginning to understand, a new facet of questions emerged just as gracefully as the last and sent me stumbling into a befuddled tizzy. It was a welcomed stupor, however; one burning with an insatiable desire to know  _ more _ .

So long as jeopardizing my life didn't become a habit.

When we arrived, they wheeled me unceremoniously into the hospital. Alice walked in tandem by my side, remaining silent.

“Alice,” I began. I couldn’t turn my head to look at her, to gauge her expression. Irritation flickered in my chest, and I briefly considered ripping off the neck brace. “How did you  _ really _ get to me so quickly?”

“I told you, Bella, it was—”

“No, you said let’s  _ call _ it an adrenaline rush, not that it was one.”

I didn’t get an answer. They saw fit to separate us then, wheeling me off into the emergency room. It was comprised of a hall, filled with garishly soft, ill-matching colors and mostly empty cots. A nurse needlessly checked me over, going so far as to stick a thermometer in my mouth. When they finally left me alone, deeming it unnecessary to pull the privacy curtain, I unceremoniously tore off the neck brace and chucked it into the nearest chair.

“Bella?”

If I could go just a few moments without hearing my name— the second-long peace I had clung to with jagged hope now lay squandered at Tyler Crowley’s feet. His dark eyes were wide, and the cuts on his face added definition where there previously had been none. He was athletic enough, but with his shoulders hung low in remorse and fear, he seemed more like a frightened child. 

“Are you okay, Tyler—”

“I’m  _ so _ sorry! I don’t know what happened! I just lost control of the van and the next thing I knew I almost—I’m so, so sorry! Are you okay? Are you hurt?” His voice cracked with emotion. “I’m sorry!”

Watching Mike’s friend fumble through an apology was about as endearing as anything could be. I held no malice for Tyler. Truthfully, I hadn’t done much thinking about him at all. His van had nearly crushed me, but that paled in comparison to Alice’s feat.

I frowned as I tried to come up with something to say; he winced at the harshness of my expression. I dropped back to my default neutrality. “It’s okay, Tyler. Relax. I’m not hurt.” With a dark chuckle, I added, “You missed me.”

“I thought I’d killed you! And everything happened so fast!”

“It’s fine, Alice pushed me out of the way.” Her name slid from my mouth with reflex reverence I hope he didn’t catch. Despite the frustration of Alice withholding information, her absence left a hole in my chest. I missed her. Her smile would do wonders for my tolerance toward Tyler’s apologies.

“Who?” His brow furrowed as best it could. 

“Alice Cullen. She was nearby and managed to save me.” 

How he managed to buy that was beyond me, but Tyler didn’t question it. “Oh, really? I didn’t see her, but I’m glad you’re okay! Is she okay? Again, Bella, I’m so sorry. I promise I’ll make it up to you.”

“She’s fine, but that’s not necess—”

“No, I swear it! I’ll make it up to you!”

I could no longer find the will to try and assuage Tyler of his worries. The constant interruptions and self-inflicted suffering did little to spur me on; however, they made me acutely aware of the phone in my pocket. How easy it would be to text Alice and ask her to rescue me yet again, this time from a more potent threat.

My phone was in my hands before I registered making the decision. I focused on the sound of tapping keys to drone Tyler out.

_ Tyler won’t stop apologizing. He hasn’t taken a breath in 60 seconds, and I think he might asphyxiate. Send help. _

I hit send before dread and cowardice could numb my fingers. The lack of an immediate response made my heart sink into my gut. The feeling rang with familiarity, echoing from lunch with reckless abandon. It seized at my lungs with such an intensity that I nearly dropped my phone on my face. 

However my stint with panic was for naught because Alice’s response was swift.

_ Seems I’ve made quite the habit of rescuing you! If you missed me so badly, you could just say so ;) _

She wasn’t here, but the reaction was no different. My face grew warm as I read and reread her words, honing in on the emoji she’d added. I had never sent anybody a winky face, but I wasn’t daft. She was flirting with me. I could hear her laughter in my head, practically see the smirk tugging at her lips as she rocked back on her heels. Surely that must have meant something.

The reply I penned was short.

_ If I tell you that I miss you, will you tell me the truth? _

_ That depends. Do you miss me, Bella? _

I started, stopped, and then started my reply again only to halt in the wake of newfound trepidation. The answer was obvious, a revelation that had sunk in long before I'd realized it had. It felt familiar and greeted me with a warmth that tugged into ache. It was an old friend with whom I shared memories as if no time had passed.

_ Yes. I miss you. _

I waited in painstaking silence for a response until nurses wheeled me off for an X-ray of my head. None of them believed my insistence that I was unharmed, so I succumbed to my fate with little protest. As time flew by, I continued to clutch at the remnants of warmth, those little rays of sunshine that Alice had left behind. In no time I was returned to the waiting room. My newfound focus loosened the tight coils in my muscles and allowed the weight of the days events to catch up to me. My eyes grew heavy, and I was out before I could stop myself, caught up in golden daydreams and mischievous laughter.

“She’s so cute when she sleeps… I’d hate to wake her.”

“Maybe you could pinch her awake? Or push her off the stretcher?”

“ _ Rosalie! _ ”

“What? It was merely a suggestion.”

The fog of sleep lifted in the wake of their melodic voices. Cold fingers weaved through my hair in motions gentle enough to coax me back to sleep. Against my better judgement, I riled myself from my sleepy stupor. Her hand followed the curve of my jaw until I was fully sitting up, at which point she pulled back to rest in her lap.

Alice had brought the chair closer to sit curled up against the stretcher. Wide amber eyes watched me carefully, waiting for me to give into my clumsy tendencies and fall over. We sat watching each other in a prolonged silence, saturated with burgeoning hesitation until she broke it.

“Are you okay, Bella?” Alice asked, bringing her hand to rest atop one of mine. The sudden cold sent more pleasant shockwaves up my arm, contrasting the flood of recent memories that bombarded my brain. I basked in the sensation much longer than I should have, allowing my lips to curl into something close to a smile. When I opened my eyes, she was observing me. The unreadable look had returned to effortlessly twist her features.

In the wake of her question, my eyes narrowed with skepticism. It felt odd, near wrong to direct such feelings toward her, but I needed answers. I needed some sort of explanation for what had transpired. “How did you get over to me so quickly?” I parroted my previous prompt with what reserves of patience I had remaining. “How did you stop the van with just your hand?” 

“Bella—“

“It wasn’t an adrenaline rush, and we both know it.”

A moment passed, then another before I received some sort of response. I didn’t expect a smile to paint her features, didn’t anticipate for how it tore my argument asunder. The way way her eyes gleamed against the gloomy backdrop of the world around us made being frustrated with her impossible. Her lip caught between her teeth as she thought, and my own brain synapses ceased to function. “I’d very much like to hear your theories,” she mused. “How do  _ you _ think I stopped the van?”

It was as if being put on the spot triggered a mental shutdown. Truthfully I hadn’t given much thought to  _ how _ she could’ve possibly stopped the van, just that she  _ had _ . I didn’t have any ideas, nor did I have the brain capacity to begin attempting to wrap my mind around how she pulled off such a feat. Regardless, she waited expectantly, tilting her head with enough patient wonder to make my heart stop. 

When she’d had enough of waiting, she offered, “How about I pick you up for school tomorrow morning? Tonight should be ample time to formulate your theses.”

“Okay.” The agreement sounded its way into the air before I could stop it, but the grin that pulled at her lips squashed any worry I might have had about jumping the gun. How I had missed that smile while bombarded with Tyler’s apologies.

“Then it’s a date.”

A  _ date _ ?

The doors swung open before I could process what she had said. 

“I heard the chief's daughter was in!” 

A tall, blond doctor glided through the doors like a model down the runway. He looked young, perhaps not too much older than Alice. His vibrant golden eyes were kind, gentle in a way that provoked trust and reminded me so much of Alice’s. I looked between her and the doctor, and she gave an encouraging smile.

“Bella, this is my father, Carlisle,” she introduced us as he approached. “Carlisle, Bella.”

“Ah, so this is Bella,” he mused. His hand extended for mine, and I shook it. My head remained on its swivel as I watched them both. “I’ve heard so much about you.”

Alice didn’t seem fazed at the revelation at all. Her smile remained as steady as ever, tinged with a tenderness that captured all of my attention. The room around us and the various voices faded away. Like a moth to a flame, I felt my body leaning toward her, drawn in by every aspect of her. The warmth her presence offered, contested by her chill touch— an icy inferno; her scent, dancing just out of reach; her beautiful features, beckoning with a silent allure; her amber gaze, lidded with full lashes that sent my heart racing with each flutter.  _ Perfection. _

“How kind of you, Bella,” Alice murmured through her laughter. “But the doctor will see you now.”

“Did...Did I—” Ignoring the fire that spread across my face was futile. No amount of distractions could quell the flames, not even Dr. Cullen’s cool touch as he briefly directed my head to look this way and that. Despite a futile search for distraction, embarrassment roared to life in a frenzy that stole the words from my lungs. 

Dr. Cullen couldn’t hide the amused glint in his eye as he scribbled on his clipboard with a flourish. “There are no signs of any head trauma or post-traumatic stress. I think you’ll be just fine.”

“So I’m in the clear?” 

The hope in my voice made him chuckle, “Yes, you’re fine. Your father is outside signing off on some paperwork. He’ll be in shortly.” Finally he looked up from his clipboard to nod, giving my shoulder a gentle squeeze. “However brief, it was nice to finally meet you.”

I stammered out a “likewise” just as he walked away, but not before he shared a knowing look with Alice. Once he was gone, I turned to her with a quizzical glance of my own. 

“Have you been talking about me?”

She snorted, rolling her eyes as if I’d just asked her if the sky was blue. “Of course I have! It’s all been good things, I promise.”

“What kind of good things?”

With a smirk, Alice stood up from the chair and cupped my chin. The move froze me in place, gripping the edge of the stretcher in a fruitless attempt to keep composure. I leaned into her touch on instinct, earning a pleased hum that reverberated within my chest. “Maybe I’ll tell you tomorrow? I’m sure Charlie would like to speak with you alone now, so we’ll talk later, m’kay?” She mused, offering an impish pout. “Try to stay out of trouble till then. I’d be quite put off if you have to cancel on me.”

She seemed to contemplate before leaning in. Her lips brushed at my ear, and her hand moved to cup the back of my neck. My entire body sang with elation. Her scent clouded my mind, seizing at tattered reason and whatever remnants of coherent thought that hadn’t already slipped through my fingers. “You’re incredibly smart, honey. I know you’ll figure it out.” Without another word, she placed a kiss to my cheek before skipping out the back door just as Charlie burst in. 

He made a beeline for me, but Dr. Cullen stopped him halfway to deliver his diagnosis, leaving me with enough time to attempt regaining control over the fire that threatened to consume me. The ghostly chill of her lips against my cheek did little to quell the embers her actions had sparked. My arms fell to concrete numbness, sluggish and overburdened. I had to count my breaths in tandem with every other one of Charlie’s strides for my lungs to start working again.

The rundown from Carlisle seemed to have calmed him. He no longer held a frantic look in his eyes, and his shoulders fell underneath the crushing weight of alleviation. The hug he pulled me into was swift, my words of reassurance muffled against his chest. I tried to scurry us out of the hospital before he could further threaten to take Tyler’s license away and I imploded from emotional overload.

My father had, of course, prematurely broken the news to my mother. She’d called twenty times and had left more than thirty messages in the span of a few hours. To distract myself from the mortification of being driven home in Charlie’s police cruiser, I swallowed my pride and faced the music. The first ten minutes of the call were met with constant interruptions and tearful relief; I only managed to explain my side after she’d finished frantically rambling on about what Charlie had told her.

“You’re okay?!” She sniffled, “The doctor said you were fine, right?”

I sighed, and for the umpteenth time, assured her, “Yes, I’m fine. I’ve  _ been _ fine this whole time.”

“But your father—”

“—should have  _ waited _ for the doctor’s word before calling you.” He shrank a bit in his seat as I watched him pointedly.

Somehow the conversation ended briefly and without prompting for more information on Alice. The instinct to gush about my crush— nay, obsession — was staggering, but after the day’s whirlwind of events, all I wanted was to hole up in my room for the rest of the school year. 

I lasted four hours before the smell of delivery pizza pulled me from an early hibernation.

“Watcha watchin’?” I asked as I arranged my plate. He’d ordered my favorite pizza, a silent peace offering that I gladly accepted. 

Charlie waited for me to meander into the living room before he answered. “ _ Horror of Dracula _ , that old vampire movie from the fifties.” He took a swig of his beer before motioning with the remote, “The game was disappointing, so I just started flippin’ channels ‘till I found this.”

“It’s six months ‘till October, dad,” I teased as I took a seat on the couch. “Isn’t it a bit early to be watching vampire movies?”

“Nah, Bells, these are classics! We used to watch them all the time, remember?” He made a good point. Some of the best memories I had of visiting Forks every summer were of us watching movies on his VCR. Most of which consisted of old, grainy movies that Charlie had on DVD, like  _ Apocalypse Now _ ,  _ Citizen Cane _ , and  _ Die Hard _ to name a few. Aside from his impressive Star Wars and Star Trek collections, I was never quite sure if my mother had left them behind when we left or if Charlie was more of a film buff than he let on. Regardless, he would humor me with a movie every night as a show of appreciation for suffering through hours of sports.  _ The Iron Giant _ and other related kid-friendly movies were faithful go-to’s until I was old enough to marathon the Godfather trilogy.

“Of course I remember.” I managed my reply between mouthfuls of pizza. “It’s your fault I’m so critical of movies now.” Watching old movies with Charlie kickstarted a lifetime of treasuring film. I even went so far as to steal his copy of  _ The Maltese Falcon _ . Nowadays I regularly added movies to my digital library and turned to them whenever I felt in the mood. There was a comfort to be found in the antiquity of noir classics and the vibrancy of grainy technicolor juggernauts. “Little time capsules,” Charlie had called them.

I had seen  _ Horror of Dracula _ more times than I could count. My mother and I watched it along with a few others quite religiously leading up to Halloween because of her curious fascination with vampires. She swore up and down that Sir Christopher Lee’s Dracula was unparalleled; I was inclined to agree. 

Charlie and I watched the movie in a comfortable silence, only ever getting up to refill on pizza or beer. Halfway through the movie, he started to doze off until a startling crescendo shook him awake. I pretended not to notice, hiding my laughter against my beer can.

Toward the final act, Alice texted me, much to my delight. The skepticism from earlier had morphed into a constant stream of thought centered around how such a tiny person had managed to pull off the feat of stopping a two ton van. I hadn’t had much luck in finding a theory that  _ didn’t _ border on the supernatural. I refused to believe that science could explain how Alice had punched a dent into a van while still somehow managing to walk away scott free. The bones in her hand should have shattered, at the least.

_ You haven’t caught yourself in any more trouble, have you? :p _

I scoffed as I penned my reply.

_ Unfortunately no, just watching old vampire movies. _

_ Ooh do you like vampires? _

_ They’re pretty fascinating, what with their immortality and all. My mom’s a bigger vampire buff than I am, though. She has a thing for Christopher Lee’s Dracula. Do you like vampires? _

_ I definitely find the concept alluring, but I hear their diet leaves much to be desired. _

_ A fair point. _

We continued to converse about the subject of vampires until the conversation took a quick detour into the broader realm of the supernatural. To my shock and dismay, Alice had never seen Lee’s renditions of Dracula, and I made her promise to watch them all with me. I also learned that Emmett had a complete box set of  _ The Twilight Zone _ , which he forced the Cullens to marathon as much as they could in the month of October. The conversation never touched on the  _ almost _ accident; she didn’t broach it, and neither did I, instead opting to save my questions for the morrow. 

It was late when the movie ended, and I ushered Charlie up to bed before cleaning up the kitchen and following suit myself. The hot shower washed away the fragments of stress that dusted my shoulders; visions of the students staring evaporated with the rising steam, purged from my memory by sheer force of will. In no time I was curled up in bed, typing a goodnight message to Alice before allowing myself a well-deserved respite.

Blades of grass bowed beneath me as my back hit the soft earth. Flowers in violent hues of blue and purple craned their necks toward the setting sun, chasing the last golden rays. The inevitable twilight brought with it a refuge that settled amongst the trees, a freedom that roared in tandem with the rise of the encroaching moon. The world no longer existed outside this moment. It held no bearing on me or Alice. We were safe, frozen in this intimately personal paradise.

“Think any louder and you’ll wake the whole town, Bella.”

Soft fingers traced an icy path from my wrist to my shoulder, pausing briefly in the wake of quiet laughter. I followed the sound without hesitation, turning my head to meet a familiar smile, the same one that never failed to send my heart leaping from my chest.

Alice lay next to me with her head propped up by her hand. When our eyes met, she took the opportunity to shift closer until her body was pressed to mine like the puzzle piece I didn’t know was missing.

“Can you read my thoughts?” came my whisper. Barely any sound left from between my lips, but she understood. Silent words trailed on, lost to time as she began to trace my jaw with her finger.

She mused her response with a sigh. “If I told you I could, would you be afraid of me?”

I tried nudging her chin in an attempt to meet her eyes, but they continued following the trail of frost along my face. “No,” I admitted. The conviction in my voice stood fast against the wind, and it earned another chuckle from her. I basked in the sweet sound as the sun dove beyond the horizon, drenching us in a cool night flecked with distant stars. “I could never be afraid of you, Alice.”

“And if I told you that you should be, would you?”

In a blur of motion too quick for me to follow, she straddled me. The motion stole a gasp from my lungs, the look in her eyes sent a shiver up my spine. No longer the comforting amber I had grown to love, they blazed with a red I had never seen before—a pure vermillion wild enough to challenge the blood moon herself. 

“No,” certainty trembled under the weight of scarlet irises and wicked smiles. 

It pleased her, eliciting a hum more akin to the purr of some large feline. “Are you sure about that, honey?” The term of affection fell sharp, cutting the air with twisted accuracy. I had little time to mull over the nickname’s discordance. She crawled her way up my body until she’d pressed herself flush against me. Each curve of her torso rested deliciously against mine, a flawless union of fire and ice. Her face loomed inches from mine, and her eyes held me in a vice grip. Adrenaline rushed through my veins, but her gaze left me powerless. 

When she didn’t get an answer, she laughed again. It rang with beautiful discordance. “Oh, Bella. My poor, clueless Bella…” Her forehead came to rest against mine as she whispered, “You should be  _ very _ afraid.”

“Alice—” 

She silenced me with a kiss. Hungry and ravenous, she grabbed my face in her hands and all but growled against my mouth. Soft lips tore me asunder, ripping at the threads that held me together. Each kiss, nip, and swipe of her tongue worked to further unravel the very fiber at the center of my being. I was helpless to give in, a whimpering, desperate mess clinging to her with concrete limbs and broken nails. When she pulled away, my protests were immediate until I caught onto the trail of love bites she burned down to my neck. They seared against my flesh, becoming more fervent when I tilted my head to the side for her. Finally she came to rest her lips atop my pulse, nipping at the soft flesh before sighing. 

“I do hope you’ll forgive me,” she whispered. “You’re just so mouthwatering.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How's that for an ending, huh? ;)  
Lol I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Please do let me know what you think! I love hearing from you guys- your comments make my day!  
As always, thank you for reading! I'll see you all next month with an update <3


	5. Radioactive Spiders and Kryptonite

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bella tries to enjoy her field trip despite the previous night's nightmare. It's easier said than done.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! I'm so sorry that this update is late. Things have been a little hectic on my end, but hopefully things'll get better and I can get back to writing. Truth be told, I haven't written much in the wake of everything going on. This chapter hasn't been beta'd so please forgive any mistakes that I wasn't able to catch before uploading. Thank you for all of your sweet comments, they mean so much to me. Y'all inspired me to keep going. I wasn't going to give up on this fic, but you guys brought me around sooner than I thought. So thank you, thank you, thank you. Your comments mean everything to me.
> 
> I hope this chapter is worth the wait.

“ _ Bella _ !”

“Mm?”

“Did you hear anything I said just now?”

“I didn’t not  _ not _ hear you, if it’s any consolation.”

Honeyed eyes narrowed at me, but I was too caught up in eyes of a bloodier shade to muster much of an apologetic smile. Alice let it be for the moment, opting for turning back to speak with Edward and Jasper.

“Can you two believe this? She wasn’t listening to me!” I could hear the faux attempt at insult and the laughter she had to bite back. 

Edward’s response was snide enough to make Jasper laugh. “How could anyone give you less than their full attention,” he said softly, melodic cadence laced with sarcasm. It was the most I’d heard him speak in the time I’d been spending with the smallest Cullen. Granted, he was rarely around, but the point still remains. His voice was easy on the ears, a soothing contrast to the piercing exuberance of his sister. “Such a travesty.”

Alice’s reply melded into the surrounding incessant commotion while my attention returned to red eyes and fangs. Each brush of my fingers against my neck was a reassurance that it had all been a dream. I’d spent entirely too long checking in the bathroom mirror for puncture marks and only came to when I smelled more burnt toast from downstairs. 

The blades of grass bending underneath my scrutiny, the cool of her body pressed to mine, the sharp sting of fangs to flesh… All sensations my mind could’ve sworn were real in my addled state. Helplessness no longer froze in my veins, though I could still feel the numbing chill at my fingertips. I checked my neck again for marks that weren’t there. 

The “vampire” in question turned around to face me once more. Her back pressed against the bus wall, head tilted adorably against the seat as her frown deepened. She seemed so innocent now, so harmless— the Alice I knew— the Alice that would surely laugh if I told her about the foolish dream I’d had. The Alice that surely wouldn’t bite me.

Her eyes looked me over before meeting mine. Hundreds of questions swam in amber depths that I’d continue to drown in a thousand times over. Restless and ever-curious, the silent inquiries skated by too quickly for me to formulate any sort of answer, so I simply waited for her to prompt me with the question that bugged her the most. 

“Are you okay, Bella? You’ve been occupied since I picked you up.” As if the concern was too serious, she smirked and added, “You’re not ignoring me, are you?”

“I could never ignore you, Alice.” The words came with unwavering conviction, an absolute, resounding certainty. Ignoring Alice was never an option. Her voice rang above the noise, piercing the very heart of what reason I had. My entire being had morphed around her. Each cell, new and dying, hummed to life when mere thoughts of her played at the fringes of my mind. She lit fires within my psyche, reminiscent of the flames her frozen touch left behind. How strange it had been in the dream. There’d been no frigid fire, only a strange chill and an even stranger Alice. She hadn’t been the sweet, albeit mischievous Cullen I’d come to adore. I didn’t know that Alice, whichever one it claimed to be—

“You’re doing that thing again.”

Once more, her voice tore through the haze that clouded my mind’s eye. “What thing?” 

Alice tucked her legs underneath her as she responded. Her eyes gleamed with certainty and secrets I could only hope to understand. “You’re staring at me while a million and one thoughts race in your head. It’s a shame I can’t read your mind.”

“I doubt my thoughts would be interesting to visit.” The heat that lapped its way up my neck was suffocating but welcome. Anything but the chill of the night before.

“On the contrary, it’d be a very helpful skill with you.”

“How so?”

“You’re still difficult to read sometimes. Sure, I can predict your moves no problem, but figuring out what’s going on up there?” She sighed then, folding her arms over her chest. “You don’t make it easy, Swan.”

Confidence stole at the words that left my mouth and blossomed like thunder in my chest. “I never said I’d make this easy.”

“You could’ve warned me, at least.”

“Would a warning have deterred you?”

“Not in the slightest.”

“Good. I’d be quite cross with you.” Throwing her words back at her made her giggle, and the sight warmed the corners of my heart that’d succumbed to the vampire’s icy touch.

“Too cross to  _ finally _ tell me your theories? You were so distracted that I didn’t get an answer out of you. I think you’ve kept me waiting long enough, don’t you think?”

Earlier that morning, I had been so caught up reeling from the vivid dream that I slept in and barely offered Alice much in the way of conversation. She pretended to be miffed, but it only lasted for so long. It was amusing, really, to know that she couldn’t stay mad at me either. We were in the same boat in that regard, whether for better or worse. 

Regardless, I floundered at her question. I didn’t have anything concrete to hand her, only musings of someone who spent far too much time reading comic books as a child. 

My response was quiet, coated with needless trepidation. “I’ve considered radioactive spiders and kryptonite.” Upon reading her entirely too amused expression, I floundered a defense, “The speed, the strength… What else am I supposed to consider that lets any of this make sense?”

They were the only explanations I could think to grasp at. Her actions had been superhuman,  _ heroic _ . No average person could have raced a speeding van and stopped it with her bare hand. The only logical course to take was to consider the superhuman and supernatural. 

“So you think I’m a superhero?” The flattery was not lost on her, and it earned a heavy sigh from Edward.

I shrugged, “What else am I supposed to think, Alice? You’re not giving me much, here.” 

“Bella, you’ll figure it out, I promise!” She reached out for my hand and gave it a squeeze, curling her fingers around my palm. The contact was divine, a tactile respite from the dream that clawed at my mind. She was a safe haven, a lifeline from blinding thoughts and crimson eyes. I allowed myself to bask in her touch while she continued, “Give yourself more credit.”

“So that’s a no for superhero stuff?”

“I’d leave the heroics to the comics, honey.”

By the time our conversation had finished, the buses had pulled up to the greenhouse. One by one, students emerged and gathered around Mr. Molina, waiting expectantly for some sort of speech. Alice followed me off the bus but slipped away to speak with Edward and Jasper. My side felt cold in her absence, even if she was still within earshot of everyone else. 

Mr. Molina lectured about greenhouses and their purpose; it was a rehash of the same speech he’d given in the days leading up to the trip. Nevertheless it was over quickly, and we began filing into the greenhouse in rows of two. Somewhere in the slow shuffle to get inside, Alice appeared by my side once more, hugging one of my arms as we walked. While her lips pulled into a smile, her eyes betrayed the familiar conflict brimming at perfect lashes. Her smile faltered for just a moment when she realized I saw through the disguise, as if she accepted that such masks wouldn’t work under my scrutiny. 

“Is everything okay?” I ventured to ask. It was a fruitless endeavor; I knew she was simply going to deflect and turn my attention to something else. 

As I predicted, she smiled and nodded, turning to pick a little flower from the bush beside her. “Everything’s just fine.” She tucked the flower behind my ear and allowed her fingers to linger at my jaw for a moment longer than they needed to. I could feel the rest of the world fade at the edges of my vision as I held her gaze, searching for something, any clue as to what might be bothering her. In a twist of irony, I couldn’t figure out what it might be. There was so much to Alice that I had yet to understand. It only spurred my desire to uncover as much about her as I could.

“I don’t believe you.” I whispered. 

“I know.”

“ _ Bella! _ ”

My head whipped up to see Jessica squirreling past students in a mad attempt to reach us. Her eyes were wide, maintaining their excited gleam even as she looked between Alice and me. “Don’t have too much fun without me,” Alice gave my arm another squeeze before slipping away, leaving me to face Jessica alone. I reached after her, but she was already too far away, making a beeline for Edward and Jasper.

“OMG, Bella! Bella, guess who just asked me to prom!” Jessica squealed, slipping into my line of sight. Her grab for my arm left me fighting the impulse to pull back. She was too  _ warm _ , too soft. I missed the frigid heat that came with Alice’s touch. Jessica was foreign in a capacity that left my body wracked with sudden withdrawal. I had to swallow down the urge to shove past Jess to get to her, bite back the pitiful, longing whine that built up at the back of my throat. An uncomfortable nakedness curled at my fingertips, digging into my palms with relentless ardor. Our separation was sudden, now coated with embittered annoyance at my classmate.

“Who?” My eyes were locked on Alice’s back across the greenhouse. She spoke with Edward and Jasper, away from everyone else. I couldn’t make out their conversations, chalking it up to the Cullens’ tendency to mumble, but Alice’s body language spoke volumes. Her shoulders were taught, arms crossed with fingers digging into the aged leather of her jacket. Tension rolled off of her in waves, even as she languidly shifted her body weight from one leg to the other— impatience. It was a move that came with waiting for what she deemed “far too long.”

Ripping my gaze from the smallest Cullen left me coming face to face with Jasper once again. Wide, glassy eyes looked right through me, perhaps into the pitiful depths of longing likely written all over my face.

I wasn’t allowed much time to dwell on it because Jessica had grabbed my face in her hands and forced me to look at her. Again, my mind  _ screamed _ in protest at the clammy warmth, yearning instead for the safety of ice. She pressed our foreheads together to make sure she had my attention.

“Earth to Bella?!” She drummed her fingers against my temple, “Are you there? Did you hear what I said?”

The reply came with a harder edge than intended. Luckily, Jessica was too absorbed in her news to notice. “I heard you—”

“Okay, but, like, you have to guess! That’s the whole poin—”

“Mike asked you to prom.”

“ _ Yes _ ! Isn’t it great?!” Jess squealed entirely too loudly. Her jumping up and down proved enough of a distraction for me to wrench my head out of her grasp and take a step back. However, she continued, completely oblivious to the ringing in my ears.

“I’m so excited! I need to get the perfect dress— oh, my gosh! What if Mike and I, like, matched? That’d be so cute! Honestly I, like,  _ totally _ thought he was gonna ask you, but it’s totally cool right— not gonna be weird, right?”

“Nope, zero weirdness. The exact opposite of weird, actually.” The thought of prom alone made me sick to my stomach. The added layer of going with Mike nearly sent bile rushing to the back of my throat. How neither of them tuned in to my distaste for Air Bud was beyond me.

“Right because you’re going with Alice Cullen, which is, like  _ totally _ cool, but we’re talking about me right now—” she let out a gasp that startled me with its intensity, as if she’d never taken a breath before that moment. Again, she gripped at my arm and pulled me along with the meandering students, farther away from Alice. The subtle dragging of my feet against the floor flew over Jessica’s head as she kept nudging me along. “—we’ve got to go to Port Angeles before all the good dresses are taken because this bitch is  _ not _ looking trashy at prom. Ooh! Maybe Angela would want to come— hang on, I have to go ask her.  _ Angela! _ Ugh, why do you have to walk so fast?!” As if a higher being heard my desperate pleas, she let go of me in favor of pestering poor Angela. Jessica disappeared among other students in mere seconds, but her shrill voice rang clear through the greenhouse.

I basked in the taste of freedom while Jess’s calls grew farther and farther away. The anxiety of dress shopping was a worry for another day, one where I perhaps had the clarity to decline the offer. Playing in traffic seemed a more enjoyable pastime, but I knew at least one person who’d frown on such choices.

“Finally,” the sound of her voice stole my attention so effortlessly. It was an automatic switch, a seamless transition into her orbit. Faces melted away around her, morphing into asteroids of different colors and shapes. Sounds dissipated in the void surrounding us in the irrelevant expanse we occupied. Her presence lifted a weight off my shoulders, satisfying the addiction I’d succumbed to. “I can keep you all to myself now.”

Her fingers curled at my sleeve once more, tugging gently at the fabric to pull me along with her. I was helpless to follow. “With the amount of times you leave me to a less favorable fate, I’m surprised you’re not having more trouble.”

“Oh, please, Bella,” she turned back to me, stopping my heart with that devilish smile. “I always get what I want.”

The rest of the field trip consisted of Mr. Molina stopping Eric from drinking “compost tea,” a lecture from the greenhouse owners, and a peruse through their gift shop. Alice was kind enough to buy me a cactus keychain. “To remind you of Arizona,” she beamed. I couldn’t decide whether the smile she gave me or the cactus keychain was my favorite part of the day.

The ride back to school was uneventful. Alice got cold and masterfully managed to coax me into lending her my hoodie. How could I refuse her? Those batting eyelashes were entirely too enticing. 

“I’m never getting that back, am I?” I asked as I tried to ignore the obscene fluttering in my chest. Her smaller frame seemed almost buried under the now oversized hoodie that swallowed her. She had to roll up the sleeves lest her hands disappear inside. My heart lurched at the sight, as if each butterfly that nested within protested in unison for freedom. They flew about in a newfound frenzy, and the thrill of her in  _ my _ clothes made my hands shake. I suddenly understood why boys made such a deal out of girlfriends wearing their clothes. 

She pursed her lips in thought, and the endearing expression stole my breath away. “It’s not really my style…” She was too stylish to own a hoodie, let alone wear one. “But I think I can make an exception for this one.”

“Must be a special hoodie.”

“I’d say so, yes.”

When the buses pulled into the lot at the end of the school day, we were among the first to disembark purely because Alice didn’t want to wait behind everyone else. I was content waiting and didn’t expect the strong tug that pulled me from my seat and sent me stumbling down the steps after her. She was as fast as she was strong; I barely had time to catch my breath once I landed on solid ground. Nevertheless I was somehow able to keep up, and we were driving down the road before I knew it.

Alice obeyed some traffic laws this time. She stopped at all lights and only went a consistent ten over the speed limit. I actually managed to enjoy the ride with her, and my heart sank when we finally pulled up to my house. It wasn’t until we arrived that I realized the day had gone by entirely too soon, and I’d wasted so much time mulling over a nightmare that mocked me into the afternoon. I could’ve been enjoying the  _ real _ Alice, but the vampire stole my attention, and a bitter guilt corroded at my happiness.

She stopped the car and turned to me, observing the reluctance that rolled off of me in dismal shades of rusted grey. Knowing eyes studied my face as she asked, “Not yet?”

I bit back the hope that threatened to break free. “Do you have somewhere to be?” It was in vain. She heard it. I could see it in the way she grinned at me, a vision of timeless beauty. Perhaps she was the dream, and I’d wake up at any moment begging for a return to gilded respite.

“Only when you no longer want me.”

“That’s not possible.”

“Then the only place I’ve got to be is with you.”

A trill of comforting thrill raced up my spine. It tugged a smile to my face that matched hers well enough. She leaned on the center console, eyes reaching past mine into the bare depths of me. 

We spoke until words lost meaning and the only sounds I could comprehend were our voices against still air. She’d taken my hand at some point, tracing blue veins up my arm into oblivion and watching the hair rise and fall with each passing shiver. The cloudy sky grew grey before we silenced ourselves, and somehow I ended up laying along the center console as her fingers drew circles along my back. She spoke in whispers, and I’d never known peace before basking in her embrace.

“Bella?”

“Hmm?”

“Charlie’s home.”

I grumbled in protest when her arm slipped from around me and grabbed at her hand to return it to its rightful place. The brief slumber that had taken me drew a tighter hold. “No way, it’s only five.”

“Honey, it’s after eight.”

I shot up then, peeling sleep from my eyes with all the might I could muster. Charlie’s cruiser had just pulled into the driveway. He was still gathering himself, hadn’t even turned the headlights off, but I was scrambling to get myself ready. I promised I’d make lasagna for dinner, but now I felt like the worst daughter in the world.

“Shit!” I cursed under my breath. My hands fumbled frantically in the dark until Alice turned the overhead lights on. Phone. Wallet. Bag. I patted at my pockets, lifted my bag into my lap, leaned over to kiss Alice—

The world disintegrated at once. My synapses froze in horrific delight. It was a quick, fleeting kiss, a simple peck to the lips, but it rendered me speechless,  _ functionless _ for what felt like ages. An insatiable need burned in the pit of my stomach, ignited by the teasing contact. I desperately clung to the memory of how soft her lips felt, how her scent now drove my muddled senses wild. My muscles felt heavy as I stared, wide eyed at Alice who’d yet to offer some sort of reaction. She stared back at me with a mirrored expression, body so tense I could see the tension rolling off her shoulders. I couldn’t gauge her reaction. Shock? Horror? Had I overstepped a boundary? My mind had found itself, and she screamed to life, backpedaling in the wake of her unreadable response.

“Alice, I’m so—”

But she grabbed my face, stole my lips against hers, and pulled me crashing into her orbit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another cliffhanger, I know! But I'll try my best to get back to regular updates. I really look forward to hearing what you guys think, so lemme know! Stay safe, all of you!


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